Do you give great gifts? Perfect gifts? Are you that person?
Each of us has that at least one person in our world who’s just a better gift-giver than everyone else. They make a high art out of giving just the right gift.
That’s a powerful skill to possess, my friends.
With Valentine’s Day next week, I asked the three Gift Artists in my life to share their secrets with you. Here’s the second of three.
My partner, copywriting genius, and best buddy, Ryan:
I’ve never really thought of it as a process. I just buy nice things because, unlike my cousin, I’m not talented enough to make anything cool.
The best tip I can give is: Listen.
The more you listen to conversations with people or read their posts on Facebook, the more you learn about what interests them. If I know I’ll be buying a gift for that person in the foreseeable future, I’ll make a mental (or actual) note.
Then, when I’m online or at the store, I may see something that brings that person to mind.
I usually find these things online. If I’m buying for someone local, I remind myself that they have friends and relatives living nearby who also know their tastes, so I try to avoid buying them something from the local store that might also be bought for them by someone else.
A simple search on Google or Amazon will give you a plethora of gift ideas. Find one that you think will knock their socks off and buy it. The more unique, the better.
Another tip…bookmark pages throughout the year.
If I’m online in April and I see a potential gift for someone, I’ll bookmark the site in a special “gift” category so I can review it later.
Right now, I’m finding pages that I bookmarked six months ago that I completely forgot about. But I’m so glad I took five seconds to do it…because it’s making my Christmas shopping a bit easier.
Why do I enjoy it?
Good question. I’m not sure. I guess I like going back to people’s homes and seeing the gift I gave them on display. I love remarks like “where did you get this?” or “how did you know I’d like this?”. I’d like to think that when they look at it throughout the year, they think of our friendship in a positive way.
Mushy enough for ya?
Yep. Perfectly Mushy. Ryan got me this for my most recent birthday, shortly after the passing of Steve Jobs. Tomorrow, you’ll hear from The Boom.
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